Economy in Brief: November 2012

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago reported that its Business Barometer improved this month to 50.4, its highest level in three months. Haver Analytics constructs a seasonally adjusted figure comparable to the ISM Composite [...]

Hurricane Sandy made landfall on October 29th and thus reduced three days worth of income & outlays along the Eastern Seaboard. Personal income was unchanged last month (3.1% y/y) following an unrevised 0.4% September increase. A 0.2% [...]

The EU Indices rose unexpectedly in November despite ongoing pressure in the Zone and discord about how to approach its tangled future. The EU economic sentiment index is at its highest level since July. The EMU index is at its [...]

Pending sales of single-family homes jumped 5.2% (13.2% y/y) last month after a little revised 0.4% September rise, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The latest figure broke home sales out of the sideways trend [...]

Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell again last week as Hurricane Sandy had less of an increasing effect on filings. Claims fell during the week ended November 24 to an expected 393,000 from 416,000 in the prior period, [...]

The economy grew faster than initially reported during Q3'12. Real GDP increased at a revised 2.7% (2.5% y/y) annual rate, up from a 2.0% advance estimate and up from 1.3% during Q2. Consensus expectations were for a 2.8% rise. A [...]

Global monetary trends are all going their own ways not leading to the notion that there is any policy convergence underway. Neither can we really say that monetary policies at the country level are being tailored for their respective [...]

New home buyers were hesitant to commit last month. New home sales in October slipped 0.3% to 368,000 (SAAR) from 369,000 during September, revised from 389,000. The figure fell short of Consensus expectations for 388,000 sales. Home [...]